Malaysians Sureeya & Shahmalarani Win Two Gold Medals; Prem Kumar Strikes Bronze Medal

Malaysian karate exponents Sureeya Sankar, Shahmalarani and Prem Kumar completed an impressive clean sweep for their Karate team at the Vietnam Sea Games by clinching two gold medals and a bronze medal as well in the Kumite category.

Victory for the trio debutants synchronised event on Wednesday (18th May) which took place at the Ninh Bình Province Sports Gymnasium in Vietnam.

C. Shahmalarani has earned Malaysia’s first gold medal in the women’s under 55kg final by defeating Thailand’s Chanyanut Chippensuk. Hailing from Selangor, Malarani might seem to be new in the SEA Games event but her victory has surprised Malaysians, including her coaches. Having said that, she earned a title for herself at the Southeast Asian Karate Federation (SEAKF) Championship in Cambodia last month.

Meanwhile, Sureeya Sankar bagged the second gold medal in the men’s under 67kg final by defeating Indonesia’s Hutapea Tebing 5-3. The 20-year-old Sureeya made his name in the senior ranks with a powerful 12-4 triumph over Dang Hon Son of Vietnam in the men’s kumite under 67kg final. He has been a member of the national team for almost two years, and this is his first step into the senior rank.

Meanwhile, Prem Kumar Selvam took home a bronze medal in the male Kumite under 60KG category. The 28-year-old karateka is among the athletes that have done us proud, taking Malaysia all the way to the world stage and showing everyone that we can stand and compete with the best. His first major tournament was at the Malaysian Games (Sukma). Since then he has begun to compete for both national and international level competitions.

Jaguh Karate Kumite negara S. Prem Kumar beremosi selepas gagal ulangi pencapaian di Manila 2019 apabila meraih gangsa walaupun beraksi dalam kategori berbeza di Vietnam.@ASTROARENA pic.twitter.com/hgkdNxtyrd
— Zulhelmi Zainal Azam (@zulhelmizainal1) May 18, 2022

Hailing from a middle class family, he had won a gold medal in the men’s kumite 55kg event at the 2019 SEA Games, as well as the bronze medal for the same event at the 2019 Asian Karate Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

You’re still our pride, Prem!

And congratulations to our Malaysian team who have continuously given their very best to raise our country’s tally at the top of the SEA games 2022 list!